


Slow

by twdeadfanfic



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 19:40:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17668850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twdeadfanfic/pseuds/twdeadfanfic
Summary: The reader is getting ready for Deanna’s party, even though it felts a bit silly, even though Alexandria feels strange, she wants to try. She finds Daryl outside Deanna’s house, he seems to want to try to, but it’s not easy for him. Needless to say, an invitation to Aaron and Eric’s house for dinner instead of staying at the party is more than welcome. There’s not much plot here, just a reader crushing in Daryl, and Daryl being awkward and shy yet sweet. Same old.I always thought that no matter what, I wouldn’t shave in the apocalypse. I never wrote it in fics because I didn’t know what people would think. But talking to some people, they thought the same, so that idea inspired this one-shot.





	Slow

Even though you had been at Alexandria for a little more than a couple of days now, you still weren’t used to the place, and you still found it so strange. All those perfect mansion houses, the pretty gardens and parks, the cleaned up, soft people, everything seeming untouched by the hell outside, like a place out of this world, out of time. It was anachronistic and just so strange. Alexandria was quite surreal and you still couldn’t believe a place like this existed.

Today was top surreal. You were going to a party. A party in the middle of the apocalypse. For real. And it wasn’t just a get-together celebration, no, there would be food, and drinks, and fancy clothes and what not. This place was impossible to believe. Sure, you’d had fun at the prison sometimes, but not like this, not big parties in big houses, fancy drinks and fancy food, and fancy clothes and what not.

The prison… Your heart hurt thinking about it, that place had been your home, you had been happy there, and now it was gone. Something like that could very well happen to Alexandria, that was the reason why Deanna wanted you and your knowledge about surviving at the outside there.

You still didn’t know what to think about Deanna, but you were a bit surer she didn’t want to hurt you. The party was at her place. You really should stop your mind from wandering and start getting ready.

You didn’t know if you wanted to go or not. Some part of you felt like it was a party to show you and your group like dancing monkeys. But you also knew that was a bit unfair, Deanna wanted to introduce you to everybody so they would stop wondering who you were and staring at you, and probably she wanted all you to feel a bit more welcomed. It was clear that most of you were having a hard time adapting, but who could blame you, after what your people had gone through first with Woodbury then with Terminus. You didn’t have the best luck with communities.

Anyway, Deanna wanted all of you to go, if possible, and so you were going to go, even if only for a little bit. Strange or not, you wanted this to work, Alexandria was a safe place and you needed it.

You rummaged through the clothes that you had been given and picked up a short black dress. Why not. You tried it on and decided it’d probably look better with a real bra than with the sports one. Feeling a bit silly for being giving so much thought to your appearance, you picked the bra that you found with the clothes and re-dressed again.

Checking yourself on the mirror, something suddenly sprung to your mind. Like many other people in your group, you hadn’t shaved since the dead began walking. There wasn’t time for that and what was the point anyway. You had never given it a second thought, it had never bothered you. Honestly, you were glad to leave it in the past.

But as you looked at your reflection, you were unsure about it now. You still didn’t see the point in shaving, no matter if you were back at living in a sort of safe town, but you weren’t sure what those Alexandrians thought. You were annoyed at yourself for even being thinking about it, for caring about what they thought. But you couldn’t help it, you didn’t want to have even more eyes in you, and with how those people looked and behaved, you wouldn’t be surprised if shaving was still a trend in Alexandria.

You groaned in frustration. You felt stupid and ridiculous for being worrying about something like that. You weren’t at the party yet and you were already tired and annoyed. Great. You didn’t know what to do.

Finally you decided to discard the dress and picked a dark green one with a long skirt down to your ankles. The sleeves went down to almost your elbows, and the neckline was beautiful, you had to admit it, leaving your shoulders bare, it was called boat or something like that you thought.

Checking yourself again, you decided you were ready for the silly fancy party. But tomorrow you’d be back to wearing shorts or whatever the hell you wanted, shaved or not.

You didn’t have more shoes than your boots, and they seemed a bit at odds with the dress, but whatever, you were doing your best.  You brushed your hair quickly, didn’t bother to check yourself in the mirror again in case you changed your mind, and left.

*

The party wasn’t that bad, neither the people, but they were…you didn’t know how to say it. They didn’t seem to really have experienced the hell that was the outside, their worries, their fears, their conversations… Everything was odd to you, and it was a bit difficult for you to adjust, no matter they were mostly nice. You were polite and friendly, but soon it felt like you needed a break. You had gone, you had been nice, you had introduced yourself to a lot of people, and you hoped that was enough for Deanna and she wouldn’t mind you leaving early.

Most of your people had gone. Daryl didn’t, though, and you weren’t surprised. It was difficult for him to socialize with big groups and to talk with lots of people, and you knew he was having a difficult time getting used to Alexandria and its people. He probably would have felt awkward at that party, with all those people asking stuff, well-meaning but a bit intrusive anyway. You didn’t think Daryl would have reacted well to that.

A silly, fond smile spread across your face as you thought about him, you couldn’t help it. You weren’t sure of what Deanna thought about him, but you wished she’d see his value. At the same time, you were glad he hadn’t gone to the party, though, you didn’t want him feeling more out of place and uncomfortable, knowing he’d probably have to take it slow until he got used to this new place.

You didn’t want people overwhelming him with questions and looks, and the way in which some of them had looked at him the first day had made it hard for you not to snap at them, and you didn’t want that to happen again. They’d see his value sooner or later, you were sure, but for now, you didn’t want them giving him looks and talking shit.

You felt very protective over Daryl. You knew it was silly, he was a grown man and the most skilled survivor you had ever met, he had saved your ass more than once, but you felt protective anyway.

You had felt like that already at the camp at the quarry, where you two first met, after seeing how his brother behaved towards him and how the others looked at him. Soon you had given up trying to get to be his friend, though, with him always lashing out and being super rude.

Your time at the Greene’s farm had changed that and you had grown closer, slowly, getting to know more about him, letting him know more about you. You had decided he wasn’t that bad. And then you had decided he was actually a great person, with the biggest heart, no matter he could be a prick sometimes, and a vulnerable, soft one sometimes too, no matter he was also as tough as he looked. You both became friends. And then, when the farm was invaded, when you were left alone as dead, he was the one to come back for you. After that, you knew you’d be loyal to him forever.

All those months on the run until you found the prison had done nothing but bring you both closer, to the point he was the person who knew you the best. By the time you found the prison, you had fallen hard for him.

You never said anything, though, afraid you’d make him awkward and ruin your relationship. Still, you weren’t sure he hadn’t noticed, he was an observant one. And also, as time passed, you weren’t sure if maybe he didn’t also have some sort of feelings for you that were beyond friendship.

He never said anything, though, and neither did you. And then the prison had fallen, you had lost your home, and everything had gone to hell. You kind of felt like Daryl and you had lost your moment, that you should have said something at the prison.

But still, you were happy to have his friendship, to have him taking care of you, just like you tried to take care of him.

You must have that silly, dreamy smile on your face, because Carol was looking at you amused. You thought she knew about your feelings, but she didn’t say anything. Coming back to earth, you politely said goodbye to Deanna and your friends, and left.

When you walked out, you were surprised to see Daryl ahead of the street. He wasn’t wearing his usual clothes, those were cleaner, his trousers weren’t ripped and he was wearing his vest over a dark, long sleeved shirt. His hair looked clean and soft. He was trying, just like you, and your fond smile was back as you walked towards him.

“Hey.” You greeted, stopping yourself from telling him he looked handsome, not wanting to make him awkward.

“Hey,” Daryl greeted back without looking at you, eyes on the house as he shifted his weight back and forth.

“You want to go? I can go with you.” You didn’t mind going back in if that meant Daryl wouldn’t be uncomfortable alone and you could keep the most nosy or intrusive people on check. Daryl was able to stand for himself, sure, but you rather didn’t leave him alone to that.

“Want?” Daryl scoffed. “But Aaron told me to try.” His fingers twitched nervously and you reached your hand to take his and lace your fingers. Daryl looked at you at that, the corner of his mouth twitching into a tiny smile before he looked back to the house.

He looked like he was about to face a herd of walkers alone and without his crossbow, but you didn’t say anything and bit your lip so as not to chuckle, you knew that at that moment he wouldn’t appreciate your joke, insecure as he was feeling.

“I don’t know if I can…” He admitted quietly, eyes back to the house. “I don’t want to…”

“Then don’t.” You squeezed his hand reassuringly. “Parties are supposed to be fun, if you are going to have a bad time then there’s no point going. They’ll get to know you in another way.” Daryl looked at you, seeming embarrassed and nervous, but you gave him a soft smile. “I wanted to go home already, let’s go back and make some dinner for us.”

“I hunt a rabbit,” Daryl said, letting you tug him away from the house.

“Then we’ll get it ready for dinner.”You began walking, still holding Daryl’s hand.

You hadn’t turned the corner when a door opened and you heard someone calling your names, you looked around and saw Aaron.

“You tried,” he said to Daryl, a kind smile on his face. Aaron was a good guy and you trusted him, he was the first reason why you’d given Alexandria a try. He seemed to be trying to befriend Daryl and you thought it’d be good for him. “Hey, Y/N, you look nice.”

Aaron smiled to you too and you returned a soft smile even though you felt a bit embarrassed, but you knew he meant well. Daryl looked at you again as if seeing you for the first time, frowning before raising an eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything.

Turned out neither Aaron nor his boyfriend Eric wanted to go to the party, and they invited you in for dinner. They both looked at you expectantly, friendly smiles on their faces, and when Daryl agreed you did too. You felt a bit insecure about the whole thing and you thought Daryl too, but as Aaron and Eric talked as they cooked you began to relax and enjoy it.

Your mouth watered smelling the pasta dinner, you hadn’t eaten anything like that in forever. After your first bite you almost moaned aloud. “Alright don’t tell Carol but this is so, so good. Isn’t it?” You turned to look at Daryl, who also had his mouth full of pasta, nodding and swallowing it down with a sip of wine before taking another big mouthful. Your silly, fond smile was back on your face. Maybe it was you, but you thought he was just too adorable sometimes.

Aaron and Eric seemed a bit amused at you two, smiling as they looked at each other, but they seemed friendly and nice enough for you not to take offense. And honestly, looking at you two it seemed like you hadn’t eaten in weeks. Which wasn’t that far from reality, you’d been starving before arriving in Alexandria just a few days ago.

“So how long have you two being together?” Eric asked, seeming innocent enough, but you blushed embarrassed anyway, chocking on your wine, and Aaron elbowed him softly.

You looked at Daryl but he seemed clueless. “What?”

“We’re not together like that.” You rushed to clarify before Eric could elaborate, and you saw the moment in which Daryl realized what he meant as he blushed a deep red. “But we met almost at the beginning…we weren’t friends right away, though, he might not look like that but he can’t be a real asshole when he wants.” You chuckled fondly, nudging Daryl’s foot with yours under the table, wanting to let him know you were just joking. You were desperate for the conversation to go somewhere else.

You had been crushing on him for so long that you were able to deal with it without problems, not giving it much thought anymore, you could keep your feelings at bay, but you felt something stir in your belly at Eric’s question, and you felt your heart clench a bit. If only Daryl and you were together like that…You took a sip of wine, trying to push down those feelings. Luckily, Aaron began talking about something else.

After dinner, Aaron walked you both to his garage, showing you several pieces that amounted to a bike. Or a bike and a half, according to Daryl, and you couldn’t help your smile when you saw the way in which Daryl’s face light up when Aaron told him the bike was his if he could put it together.

Aaron wanted Daryl going out with him to recruit people. It seemed he really knew how to read people, because even though he hadn’t known Daryl for long, Aaron seemed to have read him good enough, noticing it was hard for him to get used to Alexandria and its people, and that probably he needed to spend time out while he slowly got used to the place.

He also knew Daryl was good at reading people, how he could feel who was good and who was bad, how good was his instinct. You felt proud hearing Aaron talk like that and you looked at Daryl, but he seemed in deep thought. He agreed, though, and he already started tinkering with the pieces.

You were a bit worried about the whole thing, you didn’t like the idea of Daryl going back out there for days, but Aaron would be there with him too, and he was already explaining the job and how nothing too bad had happened to him yet, so you tried to relax. It’d be good for Daryl and you didn’t want him to be as down as he looked since getting in Alexandria.

Eric joined you all in the garage and conversation kept going while Daryl worked, he didn’t say that much but he wasn’t silent either, joining the conversation from time to time as he put pieces together skillfully.

“You told Zach you weren’t a mechanic but I’m starting to think you were lying.” You joked, chuckling softly, and Daryl scoffed.

“I wasn’t.”

“Did you study mechanics then?” You usually didn’t ask Daryl about his past, knowing he didn’t like to talk about it, and with the little you knew about it you could understand why. But he seemed content enough and you decided to try.

“Nah.”

“How did you learn then?” You were worried maybe you were pushing it too much but Daryl just shrugged without looking up from the pieces he was putting together.

“By myself.”

“Can’t say it surprises me, though, you are a smart guy.” You smiled when that made Daryl look up from the pieces, scoffing. “What? You are, intelligent and resourceful.”

“Y/N, stop.” He told you quietly, sending you a warning look as his cheek blushed, and you nodded, afraid you had taken it a bit too far, after all, you didn’t want to make him uncomfortable in front of Aaron and Eric. You wished Daryl believed your words, though, you told him from time to time, sometimes teasingly sometimes serious, and it hurt you to think that he didn’t believe it, that he didn’t see himself like that.

Eric and Aaron were looking at each other and then back at you both, seeming like they were trying not to smile, and you rushed to take the conversation somewhere else.

“And how did you two meet?”

*

It was late at night when Daryl and you went back home, and all the houses were dark, even Deanna’s. You both walked side to side and you couldn’t help yourself from reaching out to take his hand, Daryl didn’t seem to mind, his fingers lacing with yours. You couldn’t help your smile, you felt content, more than in a long while, and you hadn’t had so much fun since the prison.

You weren’t paying attention as you walked and you took a step wrong, tripping on some raised pavement and then stepping on the hem of the dress, but Daryl’s hand tugged at yours, steadying you.

“Damn it, damn dress.” You grumbled. “You can laugh at me if you want,” you told Daryl, who shook his head, smiling softly at you. “You can tell me I look ridiculous in the dress too.”

“You don’t.”

“No?” You knew it was crazy to expect Daryl to tell you that you looked nice or something like that, but still…

“Nah. You just look like always but wearing a weird dress.”                

You didn’t know what you had been expecting, but that made you laugh. “Why it’s weird?” You asked but Daryl just shrugged and you didn’t press it.

Your house was dark and silent too, everyone seeming to be in their new rooms. Yours was downstairs next to Carol’s, you both sharing a bathroom, but instead of going there you followed Daryl into the living room, flopping down next to him on the sofa he had pushed against the window.

He hadn’t taken any bed, but at least last night he had slept on the sofa instead of spending most of the night perched up on the windowsill. Sure, he still had spent hours on that windowsill, looking through the window, but at least he had slept too.

“You don’t have to sleep here, I’m pretty sure there must still be a free bed around.” You told him, but he just shrugged.

You contemplated telling him he could sleep in your room, if it made him awkward you could downplay it telling him that what you meant was he could take a free mattress and drag it to your room instead of sharing a bedroom with someone else. Or he could always join you in the bed, it was big enough, it didn’t have to mean anything.

It wouldn’t be the first time you slept by each other, you and he had curled up to sleep a few times before, first when the weather was too cold then also when any of you needed some comfort. Surprisingly or not, Daryl seemed to really like to snuggle, though you wouldn’t catch him doing it in daylight or saying anything about it. You missed sleeping holding each other, even though it was torture at the same time, having his arms around you but not having him exactly in the way you wished.

You finally didn’t say anything, taking off your boots and shifting to get comfortable on the sofa, bending your knees and resting your legs over Daryl’s, who rested his arms over your knees, holding your legs to him.

“You like the idea, right, going out there again?”

“Yeah…” He didn’t elaborate, seeming thoughtful. One of his hands rested on your ankle, under your dress, and you felt his fingers absentmindedly stroking over your skin, sending electricity through your body.

You felt silly again when your mind went to your unshaven legs once more. It wasn’t the first time Daryl saw it and he had never seemed to think anything about it. This time wasn’t different, he didn’t seem to care about it at all as his fingers kept softly running over your ankle and calf, making the skin they stroke burn.

You looked at Daryl, trying to see if he knew the effect that his touch had in you, but he seemed in deep thought, you weren’t even sure if he realized what he was doing. You bit your lip and forced yourself to relax, even though you wanted to reach down to force his hand all over you, to pull Daryl closer and hold him to you.

“It won’t take you long to get the bike ready, right?” You asked, trying to distract your mind from Daryl’s touch. You wouldn’t want him to stop, though. He nodded.

“Don’t think it’ll take me more than a couple of days to put it together.”

“Good. You’ll give me a ride someday?” You had only ridden on his bike once before but you had loved it. Daryl looked at you with a small, half smile, and nodded.

For a little while, none of you said anything, Daryl back to seeming thoughtful. You closed your eyes and relaxed, enjoying Daryl’s proximity and his warmth against your legs.

“Why would Eric think we are together?” He suddenly asked, out of to blue, making you open your eyes to look at him surprised. He was looking away, frown on his face, and you didn’t know what to say.

“Maybe because we went to his home holding hands…” You offered to Daryl, who just hummed. You both were close, and you guessed Eric had noticed it, you had been standing side to side when you first met him and since arriving in Alexandria you hadn’t been too far from Daryl, wanting to keep an eye on him since he didn’t seem to be doing okay.

Maybe he had also caught the way in which you couldn’t stop yourself from looking at Daryl sometimes. You contemplated telling Daryl something about that, but you weren’t sure. You didn’t want to scare him or make him uncomfortable. But you also still felt like you had lost your chance with him for not saying anything at the prison, and maybe it was time to let him know how you felt. If he didn’t return your feelings, well, you could live with it. You took a deep breath and went for it.

“Or maybe he has noticed the way in which I look at you sometimes.” You held your breath, your stomach doing nervous twirls. It seemed to take Daryl a couple of seconds to catch it and then he was looking at you wide-eyed, swallowing hard as he got flustered. He began to shift awkwardly and you regretted saying anything.

“Daryl, please, don’t freak out.” You sat up to look at him but he was looking anyway but at you, his eyes nervous. “I’m not saying this cos I expect anything from you, I just thought…I’m sorry…”  You shouldn’t have said anything. You were afraid he was going to pull back and storm away so you reached out to take his hand and he froze under your touch, which just made you feel worse. “Please, forget I said anything, I don’t want to make things between us weird, I don’t want us to stop being friends.” You should have thought how Daryl might react before saying anything, and now you could only hope you hadn’t scared him away from you.

Daryl still seemed flustered but he wasn’t trying to move away, his eyes darting nervously back and forth from you to the floor. “I wouldn’t stop being your friend.” He finally mumbled without looking at you.

“Alright…alright, good.” You smiled, relieved.

“I just…I…” He seemed nervous and at loss of words, and you felt bad for making him feel so uncomfortable. You didn’t know what to do. “I don’t…don’t know how to do this…I…”

“You don’t have to say anything, really, just forget it.” You tried to stop his nervous rumble.

“Just…I think I like you too…but…I just…” He trailed off, his voice so quiet you could barely hear him, seeming as awkward as you had ever seen him. Still, it was sweet of him to say that.

“Daryl, it’s okay.” You tried to reassure him softly, hating to see him so awkward. “You don’t have to say something like that just cos I told you, it’s okay, really.”

“Ain’t that.” He still looked uncomfortable, but he finally looked at you, but only for a second. “You know I care for you…but…” He trailed off.

“It’s okay, Daryl. I like you, but that doesn’t mean I want to push anything into you, alright?” You tried to give him a reassuring smile. Daryl looked at you for a second and then nodded slowly. “No matter what, the important thing is that I don’t want us to stop being friends, you’re my best friend.” You had never told him that, but now you felt you needed him to know.

“You won’t, I won’t stop being your friend,” Daryl assured you, serious and honest. He chewed on his lower lip for a couple of seconds before taking a deep breath and speaking again. “But I don’t like you as a friend only…I-I think I’d want to be with you…” He said quietly. “So…”

Butterflies began flying in your stomach at that.“So, that’s wonderful to hear because I don’t like you only as a friend either, and I’ve been wanting to be with you for a long, long while…But I need to know you really want it, okay?” You still weren’t sure if this was him just trying not to hurt you.

“Yeah” He nodded nervously but a shy, adorable smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and you couldn’t help the silly smile that spread across your face, your heart beating a bit faster. “But I…I don’t know how to do this. I have never been with someone like that…like having a relationship…” He shrugged as if embarrassed, and carefully you laced your fingers with his, and his thumb began to stroke soft circular patterns over your skin. “But I do like you…want to be with you…” He whispered without looking at you.

“Daryl, it’s okay, there’s no rush, we’ll take it slow, okay? See how we feel about it…” You reassured him. You felt giddy, feeling like leaning to kiss his lips right there, but you wanted to take it easy, didn’t want to push his boundaries more. You wanted to be him who set the pace of this new thing between you two. “The important thing is that we care for each other and we want to be together. We’ll take our time and we’ll make this work.”

Daryl’s smile was now wider, it’d been too long since you had seen him smile like that, he looked so beautiful. You wished he’d smile more, you wished you could help him smile more. You wanted him to be happy more than anything. He didn’t say anything, but closed his eyes and nuzzled softly into the hand you had on his cheek. He was just so sweet, you felt your heart melt.

You shifted a bit closer and brushed his hair away from his face, it felt as soft as it looked, before leaning to press a kiss to his cheek. He froze for a second but then he looked at you with that beautiful smile, his cheeks adorably blushed. You placed your legs over his again, curling up to him, and took his hand to carefully place it over your bare calf again.

At first, he didn’t move, but then his fingers began stroking patterns over the skin of your leg again, once again without blinking an eye or caring at all about the hair he could feel there. Carefully, he wrapped his other arm around you, holding you to him, and you snuggled to him with a content sigh.

You stayed like that for a long while, cuddled together in silence, until you stiffed a yawn, your eyelids heavy with sleep. You didn’t want to know how late it was and you knew you had to sleep, even though you didn’t want to move.

“I’m falling asleep.” You pulled back just enough to look at Daryl. “I’m gonna see if I can sleep for a bit, Deanna wants me helping around tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.” Daryl nodded, giving you a soft smile. He seemed to consider something and then he leaned over to press a soft kiss to your cheek, carefully and a bit hesitant. You felt like you were melting again. “’Night.”

“Actually…would you mind if I curl up here with you this night?” You’d try to convince him he didn’t need to spend the nights on that sofa, next to the window, and get him to join you in bed, but for now that’d be enough.

The corner of his mouth twitched into a smile and Daryl shook his head before shifting a bit to the side so you could have more space. You leaned back and rested your head on the armrest, closing your eyes.

Eventually, when you had almost fallen asleep, you felt him shifting carefully as if trying not to bother you while he snuggled to you on the sofa, resting his head on your chest. You smiled, wrapping an arm around him to hold him to you and reached to play with soft his hair until you fell asleep.

You felt happier and luckier than you had in a long while. You were in a safe place, no matter if a strange one, cuddled up with Daryl who had just admitted he liked you too, who wanted to try and be with you. You couldn’t be more grateful. For now on, your life could only go better, you knew it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoy it, please drop me a comment if you feel like it. I honestly think this wasn’t very good, but I really wanted to play with the non-shaving thing so I went ahead and posted this even though I feel it’s kind of lacking in all senses.
> 
> As always, English is not my first language so sorry if there are mistakes.


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